Darkness
by NaruLexigirl
Summary: Four years have passed since Sasuke had been captured by Orochimaru and Gaara and Naruto had left to train in the underworld...Full summary inside. SEQUAL TO A NIOKONI'S LIGHT! Rating may be changed later...maybe... Same pairings from first story.
1. Chapter 1

_How long has it been…?_ Sakura wondered faintly to herself as she had herself tucked under her light's arm and under their shared blanket. The two sat outside on their houses porch in the middle of winter while they stared at the starry, clear night sky. Little clouds of breath formed when their hot breath hit the cold air. Snow glistened in the full moonlight.

Sakura looked up at Lee and sighed sadly. A large poof of air drifted in front of his face, catching the man's attention. He looked down at her in concern. "What is it, Sakura-chan?" He questioned.

Sakura snuggled a little closer and sighed again. "How long has it been again, Lee?"

Lee didn't need to ask what she meant by that. His bond with her was more than enough to inform him. He kissed her head lightly. "Four years, almost."

"When do you suppose Naruto and Gaara will return?"

"They said they wouldn't be long this time, considering their informant didn't live too far away."

Sakura looked back at the sky and remembered the days that happened merely four years ago.

A war had occurred in the streets of Konoha. All of the Niokoni and their lights in the city -Lee, Sakura, Neji, Gaara, Sasuke, Naruto (with Kyuubi, the nine-tailed Tailed Oni), Itachi, and Deidara- all prepared and battled it out. The injuries were bad in some cases, but they had won. But the ringleader of the battle, Orochimaru, had appeared and tried to capture a weakened Naruto. Sasuke, being Naruto's light, instead gave himself up in Naruto's place. Naruto and the rest watched in horror as Sasuke was taken away and a part of Naruto was ripped away from his soul.

Later on when injuries were dealt with, Naruto had announced that he was leaving to train in 'Kyuubi's home', what Sakura had assumed was the underworld, and that Gaara planned on tagging along. They said they would train for one year and then come back. That was the last time anyone saw them for a while.

During that year and the years afterward, everyone trained nearly constantly to prepare to rescue Sasuke. It was no easy task, especially for Sakura, for she was untrained and human.

Sakura looked at the full moon in slight despair, remembering the day Naruto and Gaara had returned.

_It was exactly a year later as expected. Neji, Itachi, Deidara, Sakura, and Lee had all gathered in the last place they had seen the two boys. The scorched mark that had signaled the spot where the two had disappeared had grass grown back in it. The five had waited impatiently, each wanting to see their friends. A minute passed, and then two. The minutes stretched into an hour. Sakura feared the worse. Neji was pacing anxiously._

_Finally a burst of fire appeared out of nowhere and formed an orb similar to the one they had watched the two jinchuriki disappear in a year earlier. The fire peeled back and disappeared from the orb and showed a water orb, which in turn peeled back and showed a wind orb, then earth, then thunder in the form of lightning, dark purple for living, yellow for nonliving, bright white, and then darkness finally peeled back and revealed two forms._

_Naruto and Gaara definitely looked older. Their hair was much longer, below their shoulders, and messy. Their whole forms looked unkempt. Gaara had a scar on his right cheek. Their clothes were absolutely filthy, wearing the same outfits -though much more tattered- that they had worn when they had left. Muscles were a little more apparent on their arms. Sakura could spot six-packs on their stomachs through the tears in their shirts. Naruto's necklace that contained the elements was perfectly fine. _

_Naruto and Gaara looked around them, trained indifference in the eyes except for some shock. They were very tense, as if expecting an attack at any moment. Nobody moved. The first to speak was the nearly blood red fox that sat on Naruto's shoulder. Her nine tails waved around casually as she grinned, looking naturally evil. "Welcome back to earth!" She called. _

_Suddenly everyone moved, seemingly unfreezing. Gaara went straight for Neji. Naruto grinned and walked over to his friends and greeted them. They cheered and talked animatedly as they all tried to talk at once to catch up on everything that had happened in the last year. They were startled however when from Gaara's shoulder appeared a tan colored raccoon, except it had no stripes. It still had the rings around it's golden eyes. It appeared unhappy. Gaara had introduced the creature as Shukaku._

_Sakura enthusiastically hugged Naruto and smiled tearfully. He smiled back, and Sakura faltered, sadness reaching her. She could see the empty look in her friend's eyes and smile._

_The emptiness that came from loosing one's light._

It had been three years since then and Sakura had barely seen Naruto afterwards. Naruto and Kyuubi constantly left the town to travel. Often times Gaara went with him, sometimes bringing Neji along. Naruto and Gaara were searching for info on Sasuke and/or Orochimaru hoping to locate the Niokoni. Naruto promised to never stay away too long. The longest was half a year. He came home to rest quite a bit. Luckily the first time Naruto and Gaara came back they had cut their hair. It was now only slightly longer than the hair they used to have a year ago.

Sakura and the rest had finished up school and now lived in other homes. Itachi and Deidara still lived in the same cabin on the edge of town and Neji and Gaara still lived in their home. Sakura and Lee had gotten married at nineteen and moved into an apartment together.

* * *

"No, gaki!" Kyuubi yelled as Naruto launched himself at a demon, the hilt of his invisible, wind blade clutched in his hand. "You'll just get-" Kyuubi got cut off as Naruto's wind blade missed the wolf shaped demon and instead hit the ground. The wolf turned with all of its speed and bit ferociously into Naruto's side. Naruto cried out in pain and turned, slamming a fist into the demon's snout. The beast yelped in pain and its jaws loosened, allowing Naruto to escape, clutching his wound.

"Baka!" Kyuubi scolded. "Your speed isn't high enough to have close combat with a level four demon! Long range is your specialty!" Naruto grinned helplessly at Kyuubi.

"How am I suppose to get better at close combat if I don't try?" He asked shyly.

"Do it with lower levels, not the higher ups!"

"What fun is that?" The blond boy pouted and pivoted on his heel, sending his wind blade through the demon's chest as it launched itself at him. The demon squealed harshly before dissipating in a burst of black cloud. Kyuubi felt it as Naruto's mood turned darker at the cloud. His mood always plummeted when he fought demons because he was reminded of Sasuke.

Kyuubi felt a faint whine in her throat at her host's sadness. She hated the hollow feeling as much as Naruto did, but they haven't found hide nor hair of the younger Uchiha brother.

Naruto returned the glowing silver orb into the fourth container on his necklace as the silver glowing of his hand stopped. Using the same hand he scratched Kyuubi behind her ears, following the fox's train of thought. _We'll find him. _He thought fiercely. _We'll find Sasuke and we'll kill the bastard who dared to touch him._

Kyuubi's fur stood on end at Naruto's thoughts. Lately she'd noticed that Naruto's thoughts were darker than they ever were before. Though Kyuubi herself was an Oni, she hated the darkness lurking in Naruto's heart. She knew exactly what it was: the 'curse' of being a light. If you're too far from your light for too long then darkness begins to fill the void left over, eventually turning you into an Oni. Kyuubi feared for Naruto, but was mostly scared for Sasuke. The boy didn't have anything to keep him in the light. They would have to find him soon before it became to late.

* * *

A dark fluctuation rippled the air and the sky around the area became darker. Two figures emerged from the dark void that had formed in midair and the void disappeared around them.

The shorter of the two figures looked around apathetically. His dark eyes held no emotion as he examined his surroundings.

The taller of the two looked around as well and smiled down at his partner. "Do you know where we are?"

The latter didn't respond. His eyes held no recognition. One might mistake him for actually being bored as he finished examining his surroundings and stared blankly ahead.

The taller placed a hand on the latter's shoulder, as if proud. "Why, Sasuke-kun, we're in your old hometown."

A gust of wind blew black bangs away from Sasuke's pale face. His facial features didn't show any signs of caring at what the man had said. "Why are we here?" He spoke for the first time.

Orochimaru grinned the best his evil features could. "We're here to test your potential."

"In what way?" Sasuke glared slightly at the older man. "There's nothing more you can teach me."

"Oh but it's the contrary, Sasuke-kun. We're here to unlock the last level of your sharingan and afterwards you will force a certain little kitsune to come with us."

A mental picture of a teenage boy with spiky golden blonde hair and sky blue eyes flashed in his mind for less than a moment before it was replaced with a picture of a fox. Sasuke didn't see the reason to capture a fox.

"Is the fox a demon?"

"It's a Tailed Oni and it's container." Sasuke gazed indifferently down at the city of Konoha, grinning at the challenge placed on his hands as one of his tests felt ready to begin.

**A/N: Well there you go! Kind of a small chapter, but it'll pick up later on. R&R please! I wanna know what you all think! **

**Oh, and for the whole story to know…KISHIMOTO OWNS NARUTO, NOT ME! Though it would be awesome if I did. :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Okay, so it's been a while since I've updated this. I've been…doing stuff. But now I'm back to my regularly scheduled Sasunaru (I guess). So, I'll try to update this weekly, but I'm splitting work between 'Sasuke's Daughter' and 'Darkness' so…yeah.**

**Oh, and I just remembered that I had completely forgotten to add the full summary in the last chapter. ^_^'' I'll put it here:**

"**It has been four years since Naruto and Gaara had left to train in the demon realm under Kyuubi after Sasuke had been stolen away by Orochimaru. Now, back, Naruto has been desperately searching for his light. But Sasuke happens to show up himself along with Orochimaru. But something is…off and Naruto doesn't like it and follows him back with Orochimaru. Meanwhile the rest of the Niokoni and their lights search for Naruto and Sasuke and also have to deal with a new rising threat –one that will leave Itachi and Deidara torn between their friends and their family."**

**So? So? Opinions?**

* * *

Naruto was currently working on making breakfast for him, Deidara, and Itachi. He was very happy to discover the joys of actually being able to cook and quite well at that. "Watch it, kit. That toast is starting to burn." Kyuubi pointed out the toast that was currently being cooked in a low-heat ball of fire that had been created by Naruto himself. Recently Kyuubi had decided to add extra training to his list of things to do. He had to learn to multitask when it came to his elements. At the moment he was 1. Cooking toast in that ball of fire, 2. Creating freshly squeezed orange juice from the oranges that he grew in about two minutes using his Life powers on the orange tree outside, and 3. Was rinsing the pans he had already used to make the eggs. So far, so good.

But Naruto knew the real reason as to why Kyuubi was making him work on this training –besides the obvious need to learn it. She was trying to keep him distracted. Recently Naruto had noticed something terribly wrong inside of him. That empty shell that had once been filled with his light, Sasuke (God, it hurt so much just to think his name!) now felt strange. It wasn't as…empty as it was before. Something was most definitely there, but Naruto couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. Whatever it was, however, was nothing good. Kyuubi wouldn't be trying to distract him so much if it was. But the damn fox wouldn't explain to him what it was even though he knew for sure that she felt it. Naruto didn't like it.

"Naruto-kun." Deidara called as he entered the kitchen. The man hadn't changed in the least over the years, except for the fact that he became a little manlier. The stress of his light constantly being in worry and anguish wore on the blonde's emotions as well on top of his own fears. It made him mature a little more. "How is breakfast coming? I'm starved!"

"Just wait! Jeez, can't you leave me alone for five minutes?" Naruto snapped, strangely already annoyed with the other man's presence. Deidara frowned at him but didn't reply. Itachi, however, wasn't as lenient as he entered as well.

"Naruto, watch yourself. Deidara has done nothing to you."

"Well he keeps bothering me! I can't concentrate on my powers when I'm being bugged!" Naruto yelled, instantly turning on the man he considered his older brother.

"This is the first time I've said anything!" Deidara retorted, annoyed by the younger man's behavior. He was just as hot-headed as Naruto in these kinds of situations and often rose to the challenges.

"It doesn't matter! Just chill the fuck out and leave me alone! Breakfast will be done as soon as you stop bitching!"

"Naruto!" Itachi finally raised his voice, not tolerating his behavior.

"You need to chill the fuck out!" Deidara yelled back. "All you've been doing is screaming at us lately and I'm tired of it!"

"Well what are you going to do about it?" Naruto demanded. The ball of fire disappeared around the toast and the oranges stopped juicing themselves. Kyuubi had to guide the items back onto the counter to keep everything from falling.

"I'm going to put a stop to it, un!"

"Try. Me." He threatened. He hoped that Deidara would swing at him. He wanted to fight with this man. Why not? It would be exciting seeing him easily crush the older and more experienced man under his foot. He imagined the thrill that would course through him at the other's blood on his hands. His heart was already beating rapidly at the thought.

"ENOUGH!" Itachi growled, stepping between the two. "Naruto, leave. Right now. I'll finish breakfast. Go cool your head." He stared in such a way at him that even Naruto didn't want to deal with him. Naruto knew that with his powers he could probably overcome Itachi, but he didn't want to. Itachi was still his brother, in a sense. And God, he looked so much like Sasuke…

"Che." Naruto scoffed and stalked off to what used to be his and Sasuke's combined room that was now only his room. Kyuubi stayed where she was on the counter, having watched the fight silently. Deidara immediately deflated and sat at the table, rubbing his eyes.

"Damn. I let him get to me again."

Itachi placed a comforting hand on his light's shoulder, massaging it slightly to coax the stiffened muscles there to relax. "It happens."

Kyuubi stood and hopped gracefully onto the dining table. "Naruto…is becoming worse." There was a hidden sorrow beneath that usual superior tone that her voice naturally held. It came with being the most powerful Oni –Tailed or not- in existence.

"I don't understand why, though." Deidara said, looking repentant.

"It's simple." Kyuubi explained. "A Niokoni's light, once they have found it, fills his very soul with his opposite's light. It's like, in a sense, a sun suddenly develops within their souls, filling them with an almost physical feeling of 'completeness' and warmth. That's why when your light is traveling farther away, the 'light' within you stretches farther and farther away which in turn causes you to lose that 'completeness' and warmth."

"Okay, but that doesn't explain Naruto's behavior."

Kyuubi's red eyes darkened a little. "There is another reason why your other is called a 'light'. I have learned this by reading up on Niokoni many centuries ago that apparently have been forgotten. When you find your light, you unlock a new ability. But this light, in turn, opens up a darkness within you. Being with your light keeps this darkness at bay, but being away from them for too long allows the darkness to begin to fill the void that your light has left."

"Oh." The blonde replied quietly while Itachi's eyes closed in understanding. Naruto's mood-swings had been occurring thanks to this building darkness within him. It was turning him into something bad.

"What happens," Itachi inquired, "if the darkness completely fills the void?"

"…You turn into an Oni." Kyuubi told them. It was the whole reason why Oni were able to look human –because they once were one.

"Shit." Deidara cursed.

"I've been keeping the darkness at bay within Naruto this whole time, but there's only so much that I can do when I myself am an Oni. It's very difficult to work against my nature." The demon fox ended. She honestly didn't want Naruto to turn into an Oni, even though it would eventually free her. She had grown –reluctantly- fond of the brat. "I…fear for Naruto's humanity."

* * *

Naruto, after finally calming down within his room, felt immediately guilty. Once again he had snapped at his family for no logical reason. Recently everybody pissed him off. Even Gaara, to an extent, annoyed him. He just…didn't want to deal with other people. All he wanted to do was leave again and search for his light. There had to be SOME clue on Sasuke's whereabouts.

Sasuke…That name caused the void in his soul to ache just as bad as the day Sasuke was taken away from him. The look on his lover's face as he was taken haunted Naruto to this day. It was love, but complete acceptance of his fate. Sasuke had honestly thought that he was probably never going to see Naruto again. And he had accepted it as inevitable.

It hurt so much to know that Sasuke had given himself up for Naruto's sake. "Sasuke…" Naruto whispered to the ceiling. His heart weeped within him, but Naruto felt as if his tears had dried up. In the demon realm he had cried himself many times to sleep with Gaara watching over him –the insomniac that he was. All he wanted was to see Sasuke again; to touch him and smell him. The scent that had been all over Sasuke's bed had been overwhelmed and taken over by Naruto's own. He didn't even have that pleasure anymore.

A jolt went through Naruto that had him sitting up without even registering it. The black feeling inside of him trembled. Something was off, that was for certain, but it was in a good way. Something had shifted within him; had _changed_. But what was it?

'Kyuubi.' He called in his thoughts.

'I feel it too.' She responded almost immediately. He could sense her also trying to place the shift.

And then it happened again, causing the black feeling within the jinchuriki to tremble again and –shockingly- decrease. Just in the slightest. It was noticeably replaced with something else. Something that Naruto couldn't deny as a fluke. Something he hadn't felt in so long.

"Holy shit." Naruto was on his feet the next second and was rushing out of his room and past Itachi and Deidara on his way to the back door.

"Naruto?" Both men asked, surprised by his sudden reentrance and the strange look on his face. Kyuubi was off the table immediately and was running beside him.

'Can it be?' Naruto dizzily wondered. 'Is that…Sasuke?'

'Kit, that feeling is definitely him.' Kyuubi confirmed, more than ready to encourage Naruto. It was great to feel that light coming back into Naruto after having seen it missing for so many years, even if it was only a tiny bit. She would lead her host to the source. Naruto's wind power kicked in and the two of them practically flew through the forest as their feet barely touched the ground, the forest seemingly jumping out of their way to make a clear path.

* * *

Sasuke sat meditating in a clearing deep within the forest he and his master Orochimaru had arrived in. Orochimaru had commanded him to use his bond within him to search for this 'fox' his master wanted. But Sasuke wasn't sure what 'bond' the man had been talking about. He didn't have a bond with anyone or anything that he knew of beside his loyalty to his master. What was he suppose to meditate on?

But then, he found something. Deep, deep within him he noticed a light. A tiny, barely surviving light within the darkness that filled his soul. It was a persistent little thing that managed to fend off the darkness desperately trying to overcome it. It was a pathetic little thing, though. Sasuke wondered exactly how it was surviving within him. But perhaps this is the bond that Orochimaru had been talking about? He reached for it.

"It's coming." He stated monotonously, realizing unconsciously that this light was connected to the fox he was meant to capture. His eyes closed for a millisecond as he felt the light struggling against the darkness within him. It felt so warm…like the feeling of hot breath against frozen hands.

Orochimaru stood as his follower did. "Are you prepared, Sasuke?" A long, snake-like tongue stretched out of his mouth and licked his lips hungrily.

"Yes." Sasuke activated his sharingan, changing his outfit into his Niokoni one, and pulled his katana out. This fox would be his.

"Good. Do me proud, Sasuke-kun." His master said and disappeared into the trees.

But Sasuke was not prepared for the man that appeared in front of him. He was a tall blonde with three curious scars across each cheek –as if he had whiskers- and the brightest blue eyes Sasuke had ever seen. His outfit consisted of a disgustingly orange sleeveless shirt and black pants. On his left bicep he noticed a pair of claw marks. Sasuke was instantly in love, although he didn't comprehend it, and he was struck with a sudden wave of nostalgia. Had he…met this man before? He couldn't remember.

And suddenly, the light within him seemed to fight back against the darkness surrounding it. Like a flame that had been cut off from oxygen springs back to life when oxygen returns, this little light began to grow. It was steady but rapid in its growth, causing Sasuke to gasp a little and break his trance. Something was being triggered by this man. But the fox that he just noticed was next to this new man caught his eye and his order came back to him. He was to capture this fox. The familiar man was nothing, despite the negative response whispered within him at the thought.

* * *

Naruto was struck dumb as he and Kyuubi arrived at the destination his bond had led him to. It was Sasuke. His missing, _idiotic_ boyfriend and light was finally back. And dear Lord, he was even more gorgeous than he remembered. His pale skin was even paler –giving him an unhealthy glow that made Naruto realize that Sasuke hadn't been outside in a while- but his eyes and hair were just the inky black that they were the last time that he had seen him. But his hair was longer, causing his bangs to hang a little in his eyes. And his eyes…oh, his eyes. They were the most dramatic change to him. They weren't the warm midnight black Naruto had grown and fallen in love with. They were a hard black –the color of a demon's skin. The color of the darkness that was Naruto's ninth power.

But it was _Sasuke_.

The blackness that was within Naruto was immediately dispelled as the familiar warmth and light filled his soul. He closed his eyes and drank the feeling in, but they were open a second later not wanting to miss one single glance of his previously missing light.

"Sasuke!" Naruto finally yelled, actually managing to startle the other man slightly. He stepped forward to run over and hug Sasuke in his excitement when he noticed the other man tense up.

Kyuubi jumped in front of Naruto, halting his progress. "Wait, kit." She said, the fur on her hackles rose, "Something's not right about him." Naruto frowned at her. What was she talking about? This was Sasuke! Of course there was something wrong with him. Kyuubi growled at Naruto's thoughts, slightly annoyed and amused, "I mean, something different than usual." But then Naruto understood what she was talking about as he felt for it. He couldn't sense his light's emotions. Something was blocking them; that same darkness that had been in Naruto previously. And there was no recognition in Sasuke's eyes. Did he not know who Naruto was?

"Sasuke," Naruto repeated in a softer voice, "do you know me?" In a flash, Sasuke was gone and in front of Naruto, his katana drawn and to Naruto's neck. 'Fast!' Was all the blonde had time to think before Sasuke said, "No," and slashed. It was only due to Naruto's quick reflexes that he managed to dodge and flip backwards to gain some distance, but not without getting a small cut on his neck. 'Damn!'

Sasuke didn't stop his assault and appeared behind Naruto before the man could blink. Naruto swiftly pulled out the hilt of his blade and forced wind through it to form his blade as his hand began to glow silver. He parried the other man's blow but struggled under his strength. Naruto's eyes widened as he was forced to his knee. 'He's…so much stronger than me!'

Kyuubi ran forward and tackled Sasuke, knocking the man to the ground. 'Sasuke has always had a strength advantage over you.' She told Naruto in his mind. Naruto jumped on Sasuke and kicked his katana away, using his weight to pin him.

"Sasuke! Come to your senses!" He demanded. Sasuke scowled and darkness began to swirl around him, knocking Naruto back and away. The blonde coughed at the darkness entering his lungs, blocking the warmth from his light. It hurt so much. When had he gained control over darkness? Sasuke stood and threw dark shurikens. Kyuubi jumped in front of her host and sent up a light shield that dissolved the darkness.

"Get it together, kit! Sasuke's our enemy right now!" She yelled. Naruto shook his head, his hand glowing a pearl white as he cleared his lungs of the darkness within him. He refused to believe that Sasuke was his enemy. He was just filled with the darkness he controlled. It was very easy to lose one's mind when trying to control that power. Naruto just had to clear the darkness away.

'Hold him off!' Naruto told Kyuubi and used his wind element to increase his speed as he jumped around to Sasuke as the man shot more shurikens at them. Kyuubi blocked them and shot back. Naruto's hands both began to glow opal as he threw himself at Sasuke and grabbed his head. In an instant, he felt a shock run through him as he made contact with his light's soul.

* * *

Sasuke shuddered deep within himself, surrounded by black on every side. Where was he? How had he gotten here? How many times had he asked himself that and nobody answered? He whimpered and huddled in on himself. It was so cold.

Faintly he heard something. He frowned and looked up from his crouching position. Had he actually heard something within this inky world? Or…was his mind playing tricks on him again? How long had he been here, anyway? Then he heard the noise again. This time he was sure of it. He stood and looked swiftly around himself, searching for the direction the voice had come from.

"Sas…e…!" He turned, his eyes widening. That voice…where had he heard it before? "Sasu….ke!" Sasuke began running as fast as his little legs could carry him. He had to find that voice. Anything to stop this monotony. He didn't know how long or far he ran. Everything around him was the same and he was freezing. The only thing that kept him going was hearing that voice. And so he ran.

'Is…has the darkness gotten…lighter?' He wondered. The temperature was rising little by little. He blinked and winced when he noticed off in the distance a very small light, but still bright enough to hurt his eyes. His heart pounded, instinctively knowing he needed to pursue that light. He picked up speed and the light grew larger.

"Sasuke!" He heard somebody yell, so much closer than before. Sasuke recognized it to be a male voice, although it was slightly higher pitched. That voice sounded familiar, like he had heard it a long time ago. And then as he approached the light, he saw a figure. He felt so warm now, as if he had finally come out of the blizzard he thought he'd never survive. Just a little closer…!

* * *

"Naruto…" Sasuke breathed, his eyes widening as he finally recognized his light. Naruto's eyes lit up. Sasuke finally remembered him! He could feel a small bit of his light's emotions traveling to him now. He could feel the surprise and confusion.

"Enough." Naruto was suddenly blasted back by a wave of darkness. Kyuubi growled as in front of Sasuke Orochimaru appeared, looking a little displeased. "It appears that you have failed, Sasuke-kun. You will need more training." Sasuke looked at him, bewildered. The snake man grabbed Sasuke's upper arm as the darkness began to swirl around them.

"Wait!" Naruto screamed and froze the darkness. He gasped at the effort it took to control this powerful man's dark powers. Orochimaru gazed at him coldly. "Wait! Don't take Sasuke!"

The other man sneered. "And what can you do, boy? You are useless with your mind in tact."

Naruto had to think quickly. He needed to convince this man not to separate him and Sasuke again. He couldn't bear to lose him again. He fell to his knees. "If you're going to take Sasuke…take me with you."

'Kit!' Kyuubi thought in shock. Naruto felt humiliated to be groveling, but he just couldn't lose Sasuke. Anybody but Sasuke.

That perked Orochimaru's interest. "Take you with us, you say? And why should I?" Sasuke gazed at Naruto. He couldn't get his mind in order and only had a vague idea of what was going on. All he knew was that it wasn't right.

"You want Kyuubi, right? Well I'm offering myself." The blonde lifted his head to stare into the snake man's yellow eyes. "Besides, everybody knows that a Niokoni is stronger when they are with their light. Sasuke will be at his full potential with me around."

"Is that true, Sasuke-kun?" Orochimaru asked softly, turning to said man. "Does being around this fox really make you stronger?"

'Kit, what the hell are you doing?' Kyuubi demanded. So many things were flying through her host's mind that she couldn't even see what he was planning.

Sasuke frowned as he gazed at Naruto. The other man nodded very slightly and Sasuke understood. He didn't want to be separated again, but he needed to play up being Orochimaru's mind-slave so that the man would still trust him. "Yes. I can feel a…previously unattainable power within me. I want to grasp it."

Orochimaru smirked. "We'll have to work on that, won't we?" Naruto felt at the man's darkness pulling on his control, trying to break free. Kyuubi had to help a little to maintain control. He was losing his bargain with his enemy.

"If you're still worried about me being free of your control, Sasuke's sharingan can control Kyuubi." He threw in as one last chance. Kyuubi sent him another alarmed thought, but he ignored it again. This was the last thing. If Orochimaru didn't take it, he would have to fight. And he didn't know enough about the man's power to beat him. Plus, Sasuke was currently messed up. His mind was blurry from suddenly being illuminated with his light.

Orochimaru watched Naruto for a moment before he approached him and leaned down. He turned Naruto's head back and forth, inspecting him and licked his lips. Kyuubi growled, but Naruto told her mentally to shush, finally relaying his plan to her. Kyuubi glared at him, disgruntled and uncomfortable. "If you come with us, you must do whatever I say. You must allow us to do anything with you." Naruto shuddered lightly at the lilting tone, not liking it in the least. "And," the darkness around him wrapped around and formed a black, very uncomfortable looking, collar, "you must wear this at all times."

Naruto touched in and hissed before pulling away swiftly. "What the hell is that?"

Kyuubi's tails whipped around her, pissed. "It's a collar that saps all of your powers. You and I both won't be able to do anything." Naruto hated the idea of going into his enemy's hideout completely defenseless. He looked at Sasuke and connected his mind to his, asking his opinion.

'I'll help you.' Was all the other man thought. That was all Naruto needed and he nodded before placing the collar around his neck. There was no possible way for him to remove it now. He gripped his heart as he felt all of his energy drain from his body. He felt as if his very life was being sucked out of him. Did he really have this much power within him? Was this really how he felt before this whole Niokoni business began so long ago? Kyuubi fell into a laying position, huffing and glaring accusingly at her host.

"There…" Naruto panted. "I've done what you've asked."

"Good." Orochimaru smiled and formed a chain-leash that was connected to the captured jinchuriki's collar.

Just then a gust of wind sliced through the chain, breaking it in half. It reformed half a second later. All three men there turned as one and saw the rest of Konoha's Niokoni crew run up. Gaara took in the scene and glared, his sand swirling menacingly. Shukaku chuckled. "Look at the mess you've gotten yourself if, nee-san."

"Bite me, brat!" Kyuubi barked at the other Tailed Oni.

"Sasuke! Naruto!" Sakura cried. Gaara's sand rushed past her and towards Orchimaru, but Sasuke cut him off, using his dark powers to slice through the sand.

"Don't attack!" Naruto yelled at his friends. Orochimaru yanked his leash, gagging him a little and every other Niokoni's powers activated with fury.

"Come. It's time to take our leave." Orochimaru said and grabbed Sasuke's arm.

"Not this time, Orochimaru!" Deidara yelled and threw one of his bombs. A dark shield blocked the explosion and wrapped around the three.

"No!" Sakura screamed and she and Lee jumped, the female punching the shield with her full strength and Lee kicking with his added earth ability. But as the shield disintegrated, they were horrified to discover the three were gone. Sakura fell to her knees, beside herself with grief. "No…I've lost them…Now they're both gone!" She sobbed.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, I know Sasuke seems a little OOC in this chapter, but give me time. He's recovering and will be back to normal soon. So, I'd like opinions and reviews on this, please. Oh, and YES for those people who don't know, this IS a yaoi (at least as the main focus). It may get a little more extreme, but I don't know. We'll see.**

**Questions? Comments? Reviews? Water to douse any and all flames? :D**

**Disclaimer: REMEMBER FOLKS! "I, NaruLexigirl, do NOT own Naruto. That belongs to Masashi Kishimoto."**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hm, I'm kind of lost on the direction I want to take this story. I have a general idea on what to do with Itachi and the others, but it's Sasuke and Naruto. What I originally had planned doesn't really have…action. If anybody wants to shoot some ideas my way, that would be helpful. **

**Btw, sorry that it's slightly short. I'm switching back to 'Sasuke's Daughter' at the moment. I'll be back to this one after I update the other, okay? I'm not disappearing. XD But I'm glad that everybody likes the story. Thanks for the reviews!**

_Blah _**means thoughts, just so you know.**

* * *

Naruto felt as if he was gagging. The darkness was surrounding him and it was entering his lungs –suffocating him. The light inside of him was flickering like crazy at the density. He blindly reached out, trying to grab anything that could stop the pressure. He felt as if he was going to die. But his hand managed to find something in the dark and he gripped it, realizing it was a shirt. His light strengthened rapidly. _Sasuke…_

The darkness cleared and Naruto fell to his knees, gasping for breath and gripping the area of his shirt over his heart. Kyuubi chuckled next to him. _Looks like you're not used to dark travel yet._

_Shut up, Kyuu. Don't be a prick._ Naruto replied in his mind as he climbed to his feet. Sasuke gazed at him, appearing nonchalant and unbothered by the travel. Naruto gazed back, trying to sense if he was back to normal yet.

"Welcome to your new home, kitsune." Orochimaru said silkily. The blonde shuddered at the sound of his voice. That man's voice disgusted him. "Come, Sasuke-kun." He walked away and Sasuke followed with the chained Naruto.

Naruto ran up beside Sasuke and whispered, "Have you remembered yet?" Sasuke cast a glimpse at him but otherwise said nothing. The other man frowned, frustrated. He couldn't read his light. It was like they were back to how they were so many years ago when they had first started hanging out. Although, with much less fighting (at the moment).

He decided instead to drop the subject, finding it smarter to move onto the next step. He had to examine his surroundings. But from what he could see from the ten minutes they had already been walking, all of the hallways looked the same –dark, only lit by candles, with strange swirly designs on the orange walls.

_Smell the air, kit._ Kyuubi thought to him. _We're underground_. The air was stale and closed off. There was no air current blowing through.

_Where the hell are we?_ The only life he could feel was the bugs within the walls. And what was that movement? Snakes? _That figures_. They were so far down that not even a tree's root made it. _Damn, I really wish I had my powers_. He could easily alter the earth and the walls if he did. He felt frustration through his bond with Kyuubi as the fox agreed. He couldn't help but feel a little bad for the fox. After all, she was an 'all-powerful being' that had been stripped of her powers.

_You should feel sorry, you ungrateful brat!_ She snapped at him. _And what the hell was with the quotes? I AM all-powerful!_

They came to a stop in front of one of the many doors that appeared in a random order in the various hallways. "Sasuke-kun, I'll allow you to keep your new pet –for now." Kyuubi and Naruto growled simultaneously, pissed at being called pets. Demons had called Kyuubi a pet of Naruto's on multiple occasions while they were within the underworld (before they realized it was Kyuubi no Kitsune, of course). It got on both of their nerves. "But he is to be chained to the wall at all times unless I say differently."

"What?" Naruto finally yelled. "That's bullshit!"

"I don't think you're in any position to complain, kitsune. You agreed to do _whatever_ I say." The blonde flinched as he remembered. He was caught and currently he was a slave. He couldn't complain if he wanted to stay near Sasuke. He was just happy that he was allowed to stay in the same room as his light. "Now, go on in, Sasuke-kun. I'll let you have a few hours of rest and then we shall continue our training."

Sasuke nodded and tugged on Naruto's leash, causing the other man to stumble and hurry along after him. "Bastard." Naruto muttered. They entered Sasuke's bedroom and closed the door. There was next-to-nothing in it. Only a single bed was present.

_What a stupid room_. Kyuubi thought, sniffing the air.

_No kidding. But, it smells kind of funny. Someone other than Orochimaru and Sasuke has been in here_. Naruto frowned, and felt a spike of jealousy at the scent that seemed female. Sasuke wouldn't do anything with anybody else, would he? Sasuke, even though he was confused at the moment, still loved him, right? That darkness didn't effect his sexuality, did it? But...he HAD been gone for three years, perhaps he had-

_Don't finish that thought_. Kyuubi cut him off before the man could sink himself further into his made-up betrayal. Naruto snapped out of it and agreed.

"Sasuke," Naruto stepped over to his light and then gagged a little, realizing that he was already chained to the wall. Sasuke stood directly in front of him, studying him. Naruto reached out and touched his cheek, poking it lightly. "Anything?" He asked as the light within him burned happily.

"…" Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he knocked Naruto's hand away, looking annoyed. Naruto grinned. "Who…" the raven-haired man asked slowly, "are you?" Something about him seemed familiar to him.

"You dumbass, I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" Sasuke had a fuzzy memory of a small blonde yelling that at him. It was from long ago, though.

"You have no right to call me a dumbass, dobe." He replied instinctively. Naruto's eyes lit up and the other man's breath caught very slightly.

"I'm not a dobe, teme!" Naruto gladly fell back into this old mantra. He'd missed Sasuke so much. He grabbed the back of Sasuke's head and forced him closer before pressing their lips together eagerly since he couldn't move any closer. He wrapped his arms around his light's head, tugging him as close as possible.

Sasuke's first reaction was to jerk away, but he hesitated and instead closed his eyes and circled Naruto's waist with his arms. This also felt familiar. That tiny light from earlier was burning even brighter now, destroying a little more of the darkness within him. Ah, that's right; this was Naruto. His love. That makes sense.

Sasuke suddenly kissed back full force, startling Naruto. He shoved the blonde onto the floor and regretfully pulled away to hover over him. "Naruto…" He breathed. "Why did you come here?"

"What do you mean, why did I come here? I'm here to get you back!" Naruto struggled against the urge to bring Sasuke back down and continue their kiss. "I came here to save you, bastard!"

"Save me? From what?" Sasuke gave into his urges and pressed his lips against Naruto's neck, breathing in the other man's scent. It was such a strange sensation, touching this man. That small light inside of him burned brighter and made him feel more alive.

Naruto hesitated, taking in the feeling before shaking it off and scowling. "What do you mean? You like it here, or something? Damnit, Sasuke, don't you remember anything?" He shoved the other man off of him, wanting to glare at him directly. Plus he could hardly think with him right there.

Sasuke frowned at being shoved away and having that strange sensation end. He didn't like it. "No." Was all he said. He didn't remember anything besides that this man was very important to him. And that he wanted him. Other than that, he had no memory of Naruto.

Kyuubi jumped up onto Sasuke's shoulder. The man flinched back and moved to knock the fox away, but she knocked the hand away effortlessly. "Relax, Uchiha. I'm with Naruto. Now," she nuzzled her head against his face, "hold still if you don't want brain damage."

_What are you doing, Kyuu?_ Naruto thought to the fox.

"I'm checking what the darkness-to-light ratio is within Uchiha at the moment." She said out loud, gauging the younger Uchiha's reaction. He didn't say anything though. She closed her eyes and using her natural darkness (that she didn't control), she was able to sense Sasuke's own darkness. The light within him was still small; about the size of a small peach seed, if she had to compare. The darkness around it was crushing down on it, but Naruto's presence seemed to give the light enough strength to hold its own.

Naruto opened his eyes, having used his connection through Kyuubi to also sense what she did. "It's so small…" He whispered. Sasuke's light used to completely fill him.

Sasuke brought his hand to his chest and clenched it over his heart. "It's bigger than it was." He told them in a low voice.

"I have a feeling that Uchiha will regain his memories as the light within him increases." Kyuubi said.

"Then I guess, our job is to build up that light." Naruto concluded determinedly.

* * *

Itachi growled and tossed the kitchen table across the room. Deidara watched in shock. He had never seen Itachi like this. The man was usually so composed. "Itachi-san! Please calm yourself!" Lee yelled, running over and pinning the older man's arms behind his back.

"Itachi, I know you're upset but that's no reason to destroy the house!" Deidara told him.

"He fucking took them, Deidara! First my brother and now Naruto? Damnit!" Itachi struggled against Lee's strong hold.

"You're not the only one upset, Itachi-san." Neji said calmly. His statement was empathized by the mini earthquakes that kept occurring all throughout the house and the small explosions. Gaara was venting his own anger somewhere outside. Next to Neji on the couch, Sakura sobbed into her hands.

Itachi sighed and closed his eyes in exhaustion, acknowledging that they were right. They were all friends with Sasuke and Naruto and they all cared for them. Sakura and Gaara knew Naruto nearly as long as Itachi and Sasuke had as well as Neji and Deidara knew Sasuke for nearly that long too. He just wanted his family back together. Lee released the lead Niokoni.

"Wha-what are we going to do?" Sakura hiccupped, wiping her eyes as she tried to calm herself. Her light walked over to her and sat down, holding her.

"We cannot let Orochimaru get away with this!" He agreed. Itachi knew that. It was bad enough that Orochimaru had stolen Sasuke away from him, but now he had Naruto as well. This time he would not forgive his old colleague.

The back door slammed open just then and Shukaku, Gaara's Tailed Oni, trotted in merrily, followed by his seething host. "Did you all notice what was wrong?" The man demanded. Sakura couldn't help the shudder that ran through her at his tone. Bloodlust radiated from him. He wanted revenge.

"With Naruto, he means." Neji clarified. He too had noticed something off about the scene they had encountered.

"Besides the fact that he was chained like an animal, you mean?" Deidara asked as he and Itachi replaced the table back in its original spot.

Shukaku laughed. "Serves him right! I can't believe he and nee-chan were captured! I bet she's pissed!" Gaara glared at him and he quieted a little.

Gaara then turned back to the rest of the group. "Naruto told us not to attack. He would never have told us not to attack our enemy. I believe he was willingly captured."

"What makes you say that?" Itachi demanded as Sakura covered her mouth in shock.

"I think he may be planning something."

"Not only that," Neji added, "Sasuke also stopped Gaara's attack."

Sakura worried at what the man was implying. "He was trying to save Naruto." She said.

"I wasn't aiming for Naruto." Gaara clearly stated.

"Are you saying that you think Sasuke may be on Orochimaru's side?" Itachi asked Neji softly. Deidara placed a hand on his light's shoulder to placate him. He could sense the anger at the statement.

"I am saying that it is a possibility. Sasuke was not chained up like Naruto was. He seemed willing to help Orochimaru." Neji stated.

"Sasuke would not do something like that, Neji!" Deidara said. "He would not allow Orochimaru to capture Naruto in such a way. He gave himself up the first time in order to save him, un!"

"Could Orochimaru have brainwashed him?" Lee asked.

"His eyes looked different." Itachi agreed. "He was not himself."

"But to brainwash people, the person being brainwashed needs to have a weak will!" Sakura objected, standing. She didn't like this conversation at all. "Sasuke-kun's will is very strong!"

"He appeared to have the power over darkness as well." Gaara stated. "That was not one of his powers before."

"Orochimaru could've done it to him." Deidara said.

"You people are real dumbasses, aren't you?" Shukaku interrupted, flicking his tail back and forth. "Brainwashing is much easier to do than you make it sound."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Sakura demanded.

"I mean, girlie," -Sakura frowned at him-, "that the younger Uchiha was separated from his light, right, and for a long time at that. His soul was being taken over by darkness (which is why he was able to control that power) and so his will was majorly weakened. It would've been easy to screw with his mind." The raccoon grinned. "Nee-san's jinchuriki was only spared the darkness because of nee-san herself."

"So you agree that Sasuke's been brainwashed?" Neji asked.

"Ob~viously~." The Tailed Oni sing-songed, which annoyed some of the other Niokoni.

"Then that explains Naruto's actions. " Gaara stated, calling all of their attentions to him. "He could tell that Uchiha was filled with darkness."

"So he's gone to help save him." Lee finished.

"He's been searching for Sasuke-kun all this time…It's only natural that he would choose to go with them." Sakura agreed sadly.

"But what, exactly, did Naruto get himself into?" Itachi wondered.

Shukaku cackled evilly.

* * *

**A/N: It's kind difficult writing for everybody. I can't really get the hang of all of their different personalities and keep them within character. Personally I like Shukaku (or at least the personality I'm giving him). He's going to be, like, the annoying little brother that loves to torment Kyuubi and talks bad about her. :D Also, I realized how funny it is (being a huge Naruto fan and also a perfectionist) to put Gaara and Deidara on the same team. And also make Itachi (who Deidara HATES) a couple. But, damn, they're cute together. :D**

**Lil bit of yaoi for you people. ;) Also if it seems kind of lacking in the story area, I'm sorry. I'm surrently sick, so everything's...bleh for me. :P Sorry for the missed typos as well.**

**But, yes, please remember to R&R please. Nothing makes me happier than when I see the reviews count go up plus one. ^_^**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Summer in Florida sucks. Like, seriously. Constant heat from dawn til dusk, nothing to watch, nothing to do. UGH! It just saps all of my strength and my will to do anything creative!  
**

**Sasuke-plushie: Tch, yeah, right. You're just making excuses to the readers.  
Me: Shut up, Sasuke-plushie! You're a freaking doll!  
****Sasuke-plushie: You're the one talking to a doll.**

**Me: TT^TT Shut up! I know.**

**Naruto-plushie: *pops out of nowhere* Please ignore the authoress. She's currently insane. Please enjoy the chapter-ttebayo!**

* * *

Naruto scowled from his laying position on the floor. His throat hurt him because of his bastard of a light. The dark collar around his neck was keeping him firmly chained to the wall, opposite of Sasuke's comfortable looking bed. It was so near, yet so far. He cried out in frustration, struggling against his confinement.

"Damnit! Let me at least have a bed, you bastard!" He yelled. Kyuubi waved her tails and pounced onto Sasuke's pillow before turning to look at him. Naruto growled at her. She was mocking him and they both knew it. She was able to rest comfortably while he was stuck on the cold, hard floor. There were bugs down here, dammit! And holy shit, was that a snake? "FUCK!" Naruto screamed, at his breaking point.

Kyuubi laughed. "This is all your fault, you dumb brat. You're getting what you deserve. Sleep on the floor with the filth and the vermin. Kits need to learn the hard way."

"You damn fox, YOU'RE a vermin!"

She bristled at the insult, jumping to her paws. "I'd like to see you say that again, brat!"

"You're. A. Ver-" Naruto didn't get to finish, however as the door slammed open and right into the poor jinchuriki's face. Kyuubi barked as she laughed, the tension in the room instantly disappearing as a face popped in.

"Eh? Where the fuck is this?"

"Son of a bitch!" Naruto shouted, slamming the door to get it out of his face. He glared at the intruder and his senses immediately went on high alert, seeing as this person was unfamiliar. "What the hell is your problem?"

A man around his age looked down at him, surprised. His hair was straight and silver, falling to his shoulders but was not quite touching it. His eyes were purple, curiosity and apprehension shining in them as he looked down at the victim. Naruto jumped to his feet, instinctively trying to put himself on even ground with the intruder. He felt slightly better when he discovered that they were the same height.

The intruder scratched the back of his head, appearing only slightly apologetic. "Did I hit you? Sorry." He noticed that Naruto was chained to the wall. "Whoa, what the hell? Why are you all chained up? A sex slave?"

Naruto's face immediately flared up at the thought, a part of him secretly sore that he was twenty years old and still a virgin. "Wha-what?" He yelped, and mentally winced at how unmanly that sounded. But a sex slave for Sasuke?

…_No! Mind out of the gutter, Naruto! Focus!_

The other man grinned, revealing shark-like teeth as he laughed. "Seriously? You are?"

"No!" The blonde yelled. "I'm chained up because that bastard Orochimaru doesn't want me to wander around!"

"Che, Orochimaru, huh?" He glanced around, bored. "What's the point of a bed if you can't sleep in it?" He pointed out.

Naruto frowned remember his displeasure in that fact. "I know, right? What an asshole. He chains me up and doesn't even give me anything but the freaking floor to sleep on!" He leaned back against the wall, absently messing with the chain. "That's Sasuke's bed. I'm going to give him a piece of my mind when he gets back from his training." He added under his breath.

"Sasuke's sex slave?"

"No! Dammit, I'm NOT a sex slave!"

_Though you want to be. _Kyuubi thought slyly to him.

_Shut up! _Naruto thought back, refusing to let the thought show on his face. He wasn't into that kinky stuff. Kyuubi chuckled, obviously thinking he was lying. "Sasuke's my light and I'm being kept here as his 'pet'."

The man raised an eyebrow. "You're a Niokoni?" Naruto shook his head negative. "Human?" At this the blonde nodded. "Ah, well, sucks to be you. Suigetsu." He held out his hand, introducing himself. Naruto took it and shook.

"Uzumaki Naruto." He decided he liked this guy. He seemed pretty cool. He kind of reminded him of Kiba in a way.

"So that stuck up guy Sasuke's your light? How did that happen?" Suigetsu asked.

"The usual way." Naruto shrugged. The way a Niokoni finds their light is suppose to be secret, so he wasn't going to tell a random person he met. He suddenly became suspicious, remembering a very important missing detail. "Hey, what are you doing here anyway? And what are you?" He demanded, becoming cautious.

Suigetsu plopped down onto Sasuke's bed, playing with a strand of fur left on the bed when Kyuubi hopped off. "Me? I'm human, like you. And I was searching for a specific someone who usually haunts these halls."

_Haunts? What the hell? _Naruto wondered. _And he's human like me… _"Who?"

"This chick named Karin. She's like Sasuke's personal stalker. I was ordered to find her." Naruto's eyes narrowed at the information. Sasuke's stalker? Perhaps that was the female scent he had discovered upon his arrival here?

"Are they…interested in each other?" He asked hesitantly and growled lightly in annoyance of himself. Dammit, he sounded like a jealous girlfriend. How humiliating.

"Karin? She's freaking obsessed with the poor bastard. But Sasuke doesn't look interested in the least. Actually, he hasn't looked interested in anything. Does he even have a libido? I mean, with the things that bitch does to try and 'seduce'," -here he made air quotes-, "him, I'm a little surprised he doesn't respond at all. But then again, she _is _pretty disgusting." Suigetsu rolled his eyes. Naruto felt his heart lighten a little. He seriously liked this guy.

"You don't like her?"

"Hell no!" He shot him a disgusted look at which Naruto laughed. "But I'm curious: is Sasuke fucking you?"

Naruto's good humor was instantly gone, his face flaming as he yelled, "WHAT?" Kyuubi laughed, rolling on the floor.

"I like this guy! He's hilarious! Straight to the point!" She was laughing so hard she couldn't even stand.

"N-no! Sasuke and I aren't fucking! But…he is my boyfriend." Naruto added, his voice growing softer.

"Ha! That explains a lot! No wonder the guy isn't responsive to that bitch! He's gay!" The man chuckled. "Karin's gonna be pissed when she hears! Ah, you just made my day." He stood back up and stretched. "I've got to go and find her before I get my ass chewed out. If you see a bitch with red hair and glasses come in, tell her Kabuto's looking for her." He opened the door.

"Wait! Do you know where Sasuke is?" Naruto called quickly. He still hadn't had enough time to work on returning Sasuke to normal because Orochimaru kept forcing the man into some type of training to hone his skills. It seemed that every tiny step that Naruto took in helping his light was just matched with two steps back from that snake bastard. He was going nowhere fast and he needed some kind of way to fix that.

"Well that's all the more reason to find out where that bitch is, huh? She always seems to know where he is." Suigetsu grinned. "If I see him, I'll tell him you miss him and need some loving." With that he left followed by Naruto's embarrassed yell.

* * *

Sasuke noticed as Suigetsu left his room as he came down the hall. He heard Naruto's yell as well. Suigetsu blinked, noticing the other man's approach and grinned. "That guy's fun, isn't he?" He asked, flicking his thumb over his shoulder to point at the door.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly. "Did you do something to him?"

The silver-haired man's smile turned a little sly. "Why? Jealous?" _Jealousy? _Sasuke wondered. He wasn't so sure about that. But something burned in his chest knowing that Suigetsu had been alone in the same room as the Kyuubi container. It bothered him a lot. When Sasuke didn't answer, the man went on to say, "Well, he's really fun to tease, anyway."

The anger came on instantaneously and before he could even think the feeling through, Sasuke had Suigetsu slammed up against the wall with his katana to his throat, sharingan spinning with fury. "What did you do to him?" He demanded.

"Whoa!" Suigetsu gasped, his chin rising to avoid the blade. "Wow, I've never seen you this pissed, Sasuke!"

"Tell. Me." He growled. _Why am I so mad?_ A part of him questioned.

"Relax! I didn't touch the guy! I was just messing with him. Don't get your panties in a twist."

Sasuke dropped him and sheathed his sword. "That better be it." Suigetsu rubbed his neck with a grimace at the tiny cut that was there.

"Overprotective, aren't you? Weird, considering you don't seem to return the poor guy's feelings." The Uchiha raised an eyebrow in question, but he just waved him off. "Whatever. Anyway, I'm going to find that bitch Karin. Hurry up and go back to your room. Naruto needs some loving." With that he departed.

Sasuke stared after him, confused. Why had he gotten so upset earlier? Yes, he knew that Naruto was his light and that he loved him, but what was with these emotions? Perhaps this came from being in love? Thinking of that, what did it feel like to be in love? His head pounded painfully and he gripped it. He didn't understand anything. Before Naruto had reappeared in his life, Sasuke felt fine, but now…

"Oi! Uchiha!" He looked down to see the little fox that traveled with Naruto. She studied him for a moment. "Are you coming back to the room?" She asked. He nodded. "Good. Naruto wants to talk to you about something." She jumped up onto his head. He stiffened at the touch. The power radiating from the fox was immense with demonic energy. His Niokoni instinct immediately wanted it gone, but a larger part of him felt differently about it. Though what he felt, he couldn't comprehend.

Sasuke entered his bedroom without removing the fox to see his light sitting in his corner. Naruto's eyes lit up upon seeing him. "Sasuke!" He cried and jumped up before his mood suddenly changed, a displeased scowl appearing on it. "Bastard, do you realize how long I've been waiting for you to come back?"

Sasuke felt his heart give a thick thump at that. His hand came up and gripped the front of his shirt. _What was that? _He wondered. Why did he feel so happy that Naruto was still here waiting for him?

"The floor is fucking hard and disgusting, you realize that, right? Why the hell don't I have a bed?" The man continued to yell oblivious to the other man's confused feelings. "At least get me a bed for giving up my freedom for you!"

Sasuke approached him. "For me? I don't understand."

Naruto frowned, a crease appearing between his brows. "You still don't understand why Orochimaru's so bad?" He whispered, reaching forward to cup the other man's cheek. Kyuubi hopped off of his head. Sasuke took another step closer, his facial expression never changing as his emotions went haywire within him. "Sasuke, Orochimaru kidnapped you in order to use you for your sharingan. He took you away from your family, friends, and me. Don't you want to go back?" He gazed at him with wide, sorrow-filled blue eyes, questioning him.

Sasuke didn't respond for a moment and pressed forward, capturing his lips. Dammit, the other man was just so tempting! Naruto immediately ran his hand into Sasuke's hair and wrapped his other arm around his neck, pulling him closer. Sasuke placed his hands on either side of the man's head as he pressed him into the corner, opening his mouth.

"Nng…" Naruto gasped. "I'm…trying to talk…bastard." He muttered, but allowed him into his mouth anyhow, gripping his hair tightly as Sasuke's tongue ran against his own sensually.

_So good._ Sasuke thought as his light within him burned white-hot. Faintly he recognized that it filled more of him as his body seemed to grow hotter with it. "Naruto…" He murmured, hands coming down to wrap around the man's waist.

Naruto dropped his arms to the edge of Sasuke's yukata and slipped them inside and up. A shuddery breath escaped the older man as the hands ran up his chest to push the cloth away from his shoulders.

He pulled away and pressed his forehead against Naruto's huffing, and whispered, "How can I want to go back to people I don't remember?"

Naruto's hands continued to run over Sasuke's chest gently, quite liking this new fit body, and said, "Well, that's why I'm here; to help you remember." He kissed the taller man's lips. "Because everybody really misses you."

Sasuke closed his eyes as he absorbed the feelings of love traveling through his bond with his light. These kinds of feelings were never felt down here in this dark hideout. _If it feels as nice as this, I wouldn't mind going back._ He thought.

* * *

Itachi sighed for the third time and rubbed his eyes tiredly. It was already so early in the morning and even though he hadn't been needed to hunt today, he had been staying up late reading reports from the other lead Niokoni from other cities. Even without needing as much sleep as a human, he was still exhausted.

All he could think about was finding where Naruto and Sasuke had gone. It was terrible enough that Orochimaru had captured his little brother, but with Naruto captured shit could be hitting the fan sometime soon. Sasuke, if actually brainwashed like Shukaku said, would be easily influenced to try and control Kyuubi and through it, Naruto. That would be two problems out of the way, plus one added Tailed Oni.

But Naruto wouldn't be controlled easily, of that Itachi was sure. The man had a strong will and he wouldn't have gone to Orochimaru's base unprepared for these types of situations. So for now, that was one worry off of Itachi's mind. Naruto would no doubt return Sasuke back to himself.

But what would that leave the rest of the Niokoni to do? Gaara wasn't willing to sit around and wait for Naruto to return. The man was already pissed enough as it was that Naruto had been taken. He wasn't going to wait for progress. Even Sakura was itching to do something about the mess. Her two best friends had been kidnapped, after all. If Itachi didn't decide something soon, his Niokoni forces were going to find their own paths to take.

He sighed again.

The hallway light flicked on and Deidara padded into the living room in a bathrobe. He frowned upon seeing Itachi sitting on the couch. "You're still awake?" Itachi nodded. The blonde man walked over and looked over the man's shoulder, studying what was written on the documents. Not quite caring what they said, he knocked them out of his hands.

Itachi glared lightly at him, annoyed. "That was rude."

Deidara ignored that and climbed into the man's lap, glaring at him. "You need some sleep, Itachi. You're not going to get any work done like this, hm?" He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss against his lips. "You can't do it all by yourself."

"I'm not trying to." Itachi murmured, pulling the man closer and kissing him deeper this time. Deidara wrapped his arms around his neck and tugged Itachi's hair out of its ponytail, opening his mouth before plunging into Itachi's. Itachi allowed him to lower the two of them into a laying position onto the couch before forcing his way into Deidara's mouth, rolling his tongue expertly against his in a way he knew the blonde man liked. Deidara groaned and pressed closer but the other man suddenly pulled away, an idea appearing.

"Deidara, I know what we need to do about this situation."

Deidara pouted a little at their play being stopped but asked, "What's that, un?" Itachi pecked his lips, unable to resist the pout but said,

"We need to find the Akatsuki."

**A/N: Well, that's it for now. *sigh* I'm not all that happy with this chapter. Seriously, if anybody has any ideas on what I should throw into the story, toss them at me. I'd really appreciate it. And feedback. I'm always hungry for feedback.**


End file.
